NationStates Jolt Archive

:) Hi guys!
O.K., I confess: I just love opera! Espessialy belcanto opera. But there is just one tiny problem: my friends and family members don't really like opera as much as I do. So my question is this: who in NATIONSTATES likes opera? It would really mean a lot to me if someone contacted me. Waiting for your reply!

I liked the only opera I saw. Aida.
I was having trouble sleeping, then I went to see it, poof, out like a light. :p

I've only seen Der Ring Des Nibelungen, but it was awesome, though it's composer didn't actually define it as an opera. (I think Wagner called his pieces "Music-Dramas"... or something... GCSE music was a long time ago :p)

I like some Operas. On the other hand, every medium has its abominations and those abominations are, regrettably, what people build their stereotypes and preconceptions out of.

what is your favorite part in Aida? Was it a good production? Who were the stars?

what is your favorite part in Aida? Was it a good production? Who were the stars?
I have no idea, I fell asleep five minutes in.

I do. Seen more then I can count.

My wife is a singer. Nobody famous but she has performed.....

H N Fiddlebottoms VIII, what operas Do you like? What is your favorite?

The Black Forrest.
Really? Is she good? What roles does she sing?

I have no idea, I fell asleep five minutes in.

Well, I agree with you there, the first five minutes of Aida are splenid!

:) Hi guys!
O.K., I confess: I just love opera! Espessialy belcanto opera. But there is just one tiny problem: my friends and family members don't really like opera as much as I do. So my question is this: who in NATIONSTATES likes opera? It would really mean a lot to me if someone contacted me. Waiting for your reply!
lohengrin, prince igor, flying dutchman overture. i've never seen them, but i really like the music.

I've only seen the barber one but that was a long time ago. I seem to remember thinking that it was semi-OK though.

I've only seen Der Ring Des Nibelungen, but it was awesome, though it's composer didn't actually define it as an opera. (I think Wagner called his pieces "Music-Dramas"... or something... GCSE music was a long time ago :p)
i want to see that a real lot! they should make a book out of it.

lohengrin, prince igor, flying dutchman overture. i've never seen them, but i really like the music.

You like Prince Igor? Now that's cool! Not many people can understand Russian music?

I've only seen the barber one but that was a long time ago. I seem to remember thinking that it was semi-OK though.

You mean the Barben of Seville? But that's a masterpiece!

What about Lucia di Lammermoor? It's a great opera! The Mad scene is just SO beautiful!

You mean the Barben of Seville? But that's a masterpiece!
I saw the Barber of Seville at the Kennedy Center in December 2001 when my sister was assistant costume director for the National Opera. I shared a box with Placido Domingo. Coolest "star" in the world. Split a bottle of Dom with us...

I have the entire Ring Cycle in MP3, as well as Tristan and Isolade.

Of course, no Opera can compare to PDQ Bach's "Abduction of Figaro"... :p

You mean the Barben of Seville? But that's a masterpiece!
Yeah, that one. I was forced to watch it though in middle school over ten years ago. Many of the details of what I remember about it are sketchy at best now.

I have never seen an opera and have only really listened to Mozarts operas as I feel no need to listen to other pathetic "composers" attempting to touch what Mozart perfected. Oh wait I heard some of that Phillip Glass opera... uh, well it was shit! etc.

I have never seen an opera and have only really listened to Mozarts operas as I feel no need to listen to other pathetic "composers" attempting to touch what Mozart perfected. Oh wait I heard some of that Phillip Glass opera... uh, well it was shit! etc.

You sound a lot like a character in Terror Firmer who only liked Steven Spielberg movies.
Only those who have watched the movie will understand what I have just said. :)

You sound a lot like a character in Terror Firmer who only liked Steven Spielberg movies.
Only those who have watched the movie will understand what I have just said. :)
Why, thank you.

Why, thank you.
So you like being compared to a serial killing, body part pickling, hermaphrodite working on a low budget film but only appreciates Steven Spielberg's work, and whose father is played by Ron Jeremy?
hmm I must remember that for future reference :)

You like Prince Igor? Now that's cool! Not many people can understand Russian music?
ya! do you like dmitri shostakovich? he was a good composer, too.

ya! do you like dmitri shostakovich? he was a bloody great composer, too.
Sorry to be a pedant, but you had a little typo in your post.

Fixed. ;)

Sorry to be a pedant, but you had a little typo in your post.

Fixed. ;)

i'll take that you agree? i'm actually listening to symphony #10, allegro right now.

I love opera. My favorites are Carmen, The Phantom of the Opera (theater version) and Madame Butterfly.

I love opera buildings, even though I'm not fond of opera.
Just look at how magnificent they are.
I've visited the ones in Budapest, Salzburg, Zagreb and Zurich.

Sorry to disappoint you guys but, according to Drunk Commies, Tom Cruise just killed her.

I enjoy opera, but I find Wagner too heavy.

I enjoy listening to opera, but not watching it.

I love opera. My favorites are Carmen, The Phantom of the Opera (theater version) and Madame Butterfly.

Normally I let things like this go by. I was young and confused once and I find people who pedantically "correct" others to be annoying, self-important prats who use others' ignorance as a means to bolster their own limited self-confidence.

However, and this is as polite as I can get given the howling error presented above, for the love of all that is holy, ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER IS NOT OPERA!!!

I'll withhold my own opinion about precisely what Webber is because it's irrelevant and potentially antagonistic, but his works are to opera what McDonald's is to beef and potatoes. Please do not confuse musical theater and opera.

Bizet (Carmen) and Puccini (Madama Butterfly) certainly qualify, though, and I commend you on your choices -- again, not that it matters what I think. If you like Puccini, try to check out his comic opera Gianni Schicchi (pronounced "gee-AH-nee SKEE-kee"). Aside from a hilarious plot about avaricious relatives and a con man who uses their greed to screw them out of their inheritance, it features one of Puccini's most memorable and beautiful arias, "O mio Babbino caro".

Opera isn't just Mozart, either. Of course he was brilliant, and a good company can make Mozart come alive, much like a good theater company can make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. By the same token, though, a flawed or dull production makes even the best music and plot line seem boring.

If you're feeling adventurous, check out Benjamin Britten's tragic Peter Grimes, Carl Maria von Weber's stirring Der Freischutz, Richard Strauss's hilarious Die Fledermaus, or Stravinsky's haunting The Rake's Progress. Remember, it isn't all about how great the work is -- make sure you go see an opera company that knows what it's doing.

Pedantic lecture over. Sorry if I put anyone out.

i'll take that you agree? i'm actually listening to symphony #10, allegro right now.

Shostakovich 10 is GORGEOUS!!! The orchestra at my college played it some years back and I was overcome by its depth and range. So many write off Shostakovich as a Soviet propagandist without recognizing that he had no choice in the matter. While he certainly did write patriotically-themed works, there isn't a single one of them that doesn't poke at least a bit of subversive fun at the State through the subtle inclusion of themes like Russian folk tunes, hymns or other Party-prohibited melodies.

To me, Shostakovich 10 ranks up there with Brahms 2, Gorecki 2 and Beethoven 9.

I have never seen an opera and have only really listened to Mozarts operas as I feel no need to listen to other pathetic "composers" attempting to touch what Mozart perfected. Oh wait I heard some of that Phillip Glass opera... uh, well it was shit! etc.

A mind so narrow you could wear needles as necklaces. It's comments like that which keep potential neophytes away from even Mozart. As a music educator, generalizations are death to any genre and are effectively musical racism. Go see a full-on, well-produced production of something by Puccini, Verdi, Weber, Britten, Offenbach, Rossini, Stravinsky, Gluck, or R. Strauss. Expand a horizon or two, why dontcha?

EDIT: By the way, to go from Mozart to GLASS? Are you insane? That's like going from grape juice to Chateau Neuf du Pape (not the quality, the transition)! Try something in between before you go rushing into experimental 20th Century head-cases like Glass.

Normally I let things like this go by. I was young and confused once and I find people who pedantically "correct" others to be annoying, self-important prats who use others' ignorance as a means to bolster their own limited self-confidence.

However, and this is as polite as I can get given the howling error presented above, for the love of all that is holy, ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER IS NOT OPERA!!!

I'll withhold my own opinion about precisely what Webber is because it's irrelevant and potentially antagonistic, but his works are to opera what McDonald's is to beef and potatoes. Please do not confuse musical theater and opera.

Bizet (Carmen) and Puccini (Madama Butterfly) certainly qualify, though, and I commend you on your choices -- again, not that it matters what I think. If you like Puccini, try to check out his comic opera Gianni Schicchi (pronounced "gee-AH-nee SKEE-kee"). Aside from a hilarious plot about avaricious relatives and a con man who uses their greed to screw them out of their inheritance, it features one of Puccini's most memorable and beautiful arias, "O mio Babbino caro".

Opera isn't just Mozart, either. Of course he was brilliant, and a good company can make Mozart come alive, much like a good theater company can make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. By the same token, though, a flawed or dull production makes even the best music and plot line seem boring.

If you're feeling adventurous, check out Benjamin Britten's tragic Peter Grimes, Carl Maria von Weber's stirring Der Freischutz, Richard Strauss's hilarious Die Fledermaus, or Stravinsky's haunting The Rake's Progress. Remember, it isn't all about how great the work is -- make sure you go see an opera company that knows what it's doing.

Pedantic lecture over. Sorry if I put anyone out.

Seeing that you're from Seattle I imagined Frasier Crane delivering that tirade.

P.S. I thought Jesus Christ Superstar was great!

Seeing that you're from Seattle I imagined Frasier Crane delivering that tirade.

P.S. I thought Jesus Christ Superstar was great!

I thought it was great, too, but it still ain't opera.

PS: Fraiser Crane is about as typical a Seattleite as Paris Hilton is a typical Somali.

I love Verdi's operas, aslo a fan of Lakme, by Delibes, the flower duet from that one is the most ethereal and beautiful pieces of vocal music I've ever heard. Bizet wrote some amazing ones too, though Carmen is the only one I'm really familiar with. Never got into Mozarts Operettas or Wagners stuff. Verdi is the only one I'm very familiar with, as my dad is a very big fan of his work. It was hell though, waking up during my teenage years, burnt-out from the night before, at Sunday noontime, to the sound of the Rigoletto or La Traviata at full blast on my dad's stereo upstairs. Better than classic rock by far though.

Early exposure to Opera may explain why in a genre known for its lack of vocals, I consistantly find myself making it with vocals (I'm speak of Techno, of course.) I recently found an unkown talent, a girl with a golden voice, to colaborate with. The human voice, the first ever instrument, is a miraculous thing indeed.

I thought it was great, too, but it still ain't opera.

PS: Fraiser Crane is about as typical a Seattleite as Paris Hilton is a typical Somali.

Perhaps, but I couldn't help read your "pedantic lecture" (your words) and hearing Kelsey Grammar's voice.

Regarding "Jesus Christ Superstar", why isn't it opera and what, in your opinion qualifies something as being an opera?

Opera is my personal obsession, there is no sound sweeter to me. I myself am a Wagnerite, Die Walkure of the Ring series being my all time favorite. I am fond of almost all varieties though, Mozart being a close contender for second, though i prefer Classical Opera more, i also have found contemporary sounds like Gershwin's Porgy n Bess, and Regina by Marc Blitzstien, being my 4th Favorite Opera overall. I went to the Wagner fest in 2003, and it was the best time i had in my entire life. The Washington Opera has a great season coming up with titles including Porgy n Bess, I vespri siciliani by Verdi, Wagner's Das Rheingold, Mozarts La clemenza di Tito, and some other masterpieces, my dad got us tickets for all of the above, and some others, like a trilogy that Domingo and three guests will be performing, i suggest anyone in the Area to get tickets while they still can.

I do, but I'm not going to sit through a 3 day long German opera! :p

*sings Queen of the Night aria, hitting perfect high F's*

I'm certainly an opera fan. Heck, I even attended a marathon viewing of the entire Ring cycle a couple of years ago. (There's nothing more insane than a room full of people who are still up at 5 AM after watching about 16 hours of Wagner.) Unfortunately, the radio station near me that used to broadcast weekly shows from the Met went off the air a few years back, so I haven't had a chance to listen to much lately...

My favorite opera is "Thaïs" by Massenet. It has been very seldom presented, but fortunately there has been some interest in the last 5 years with a lavish production that had a huge success in France -- and a double CD that sounds perfect. A very powerful opera about an Egyptian princess who's troubled by an encounter with a Christian monk... and the monk's equally troubled by his encounter. Both will find their demise. Ta-ta-TAAAAAM.

*sings Queen of the Night aria, hitting perfect high F's*

I'm certainly an opera fan. Heck, I even attended a marathon viewing of the entire Ring cycle a couple of years ago. (There's nothing more insane than a room full of people who are still up at 5 AM after watching about 16 hours of Wagner.) Unfortunately, the radio station near me that used to broadcast weekly shows from the Met went off the air a few years back, so I haven't had a chance to listen to much lately...


Oh my God... I was referring to that when I said 3 day German Opera. Sometimes they play it out for three long days... live... :eek:

I typically proform in more operas then I see. I sang with San Francisco Opera with Billy Budd, Cavilaria Rusticana (I won't even try to spell these correctly) and Pagliacci. I have also been in Don Giovanni, la Boheme, Tosca, lucia de lammermoor, and a few others I can't remember with a more local opera company. I think it is safe to say that i love opera.